SBY Heads to Timor Leste for Diplomatic Meeting

Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono headed to Timor Leste on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation programs between the two countries.

“[Yudhoyono] was invited by Timor Leste President Taur Matan Ruak,” Presidential adviser for international affairs Teuku Faizasyah said in a press release.

The trip will be Yudhoyono’s second diplomatic visit to Timor Leste, where he is slated to meet with President Taur as well as Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

Faizasyah said during the visit Yudhoyono will be signing a number of memorandums of understanding covering the fisheries and maritime sector, education and culture, information technology and the Development and Regional Integrated Economic Approach (DRIEA), in addition to exploring new bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Yudhoyono will also be discussing how the incoming Indonesian government, under President-Elect Joko Widodo, can continue to nurture the two countries’ existing relationship.

“The diplomatic bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Timor Leste, which started in 2002, is growing stronger and has yielded increasing results in many aspects,” Faizasyah said.

Aside from the diplomatic meeting, Yudhoyono is also scheduled to officiate the groundbreaking ceremony of the Indonesian Cultural Center building in Dili.